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The Reluctant Dark Knight/Epilogue
Please note that only Numbuh 404 may edit this page. "I’m afraid we failed to stop Gargamel, my little Smurfs,” Papa Smurf confessed. Brainy snuck away and disappeared as he continued. “My teleporting potion sent us to the King’s castle instead of the hovel, so there was no way we could have smurfed back in time. As much as it pains me to smurf, Johan is no longer his Smurfy self. He belongs to the side of darkness now." A startling gasp echoed over the village followed by a worrisome susurration. “What does this mean for us?” Somebody asked. For a few moments Papa’s eyes darted to the ground while his hands were clasped behind his back. Eventually, he looked up and steeled himself for the truth he regretted to bestow. "...We must keep him away from the village indefinitely. Our survival depends on it now.” . . . “Your room is in the cellar for now,” Gargamel said, gesturing to the end of the room, “but if you prove your worth, I’ll make your accommodations more suitable.” “Thank you,” Johan replied. He walked towards it as he heard, “Call me ‘master’ from now on,” behind him. He turned his head and nodded before opening the cellar door and descending the stairs. It was poorly lit, but with the assistance of a few candles, he believed it could be improved. Once he was out of earshot, Scruple tugged his master’s robe with a muddled countenance. "I’m glad everything’s worked out so far, Garggy, but why’d you give him the antidote in the first place? What if he actually got to use it and we lost our Smurfs?” he asked. “It doesn’t surprise me that we did, but still – any logic behind that part of the plan?” “Oh yes, my boy,” he grinned, “You see, that vial of liquid I gave him was useless.” "It was?" "Of course, you idiot. Why would I do something as thoughtless as create a potent antidote?” “Well, you’ve done less impressive things in the past…” Scruple rolled his eyes and received a grimace from the old man as he continued. “That’s not important now, Scruple. We may have lost the six Smurfs today, but in good time we’ll have the entire village captured thanks to our knight.” He lifted one hand and triumphantly added, “And once we destroy them, we’ll overthrow the kingdom and take power! Can you imagine it – me, a king, and no more wretched blue creatures or their friends standing in our way!” He cackled and patted his back; then he shoved him closer to the cauldron. “Clean that oversized pot – we’ll be using it for dinner tonight.” “Why should I do it?” he complained, “Give this job to the new guy! I need a break already!” “Fine, fine,” Gargamel approved, flicking his hand, “Fetch the young man and I’ll have you gather herbs instead.” His apprentice groaned and dragged himself to the cellar door, knocked a few times, and then told Johan what his task was. Then he grabbed a sack from the table and made his way out the door. "I'll be back, Garggy." While the wizard searched the spice cabinets, Johan approached the cauldron and examined it to determine the workload; it wasn’t much, thankfully, so he picked up a scrubbing brush and began scraping the inner surface. He overheard his master muttering something about having nothing good and decided to comment. "I have some money, Gargamel, so I could go to the seaside market and purchase a chicken or two.” Gargamel glanced at him and replied with, “Give it to me and I’ll do it myself while you prepare the pot.” Upon his approach, he received a small tie-up bag containing four gold coins; one had King Gerard’s face on it and the other three showed the King. “Thank you, my boy,” he said, giving him a reassuring pat on the head. He left the hovel without another word. . . . After a listless journey back to the castle, Falla dismounted and led Gentile into her stable pen with Peewit at her side. She couldn’t lift her head or even force herself to smile; Johan’s eyes were impossible to un-see and the sound of his voice when he begged her to release him replayed in her head relentlessly. The rest of her body was functioning on autopilot – walking, removing her stallion’s saddle and reins, opening the doors to the throne room. It wasn’t until she was standing before the King that she was returned to reality. "Your majesty,” she began quietly, “something has happened.” She caught sight of Princess Savina entering from the west corridor with Dame Barbara and hesitated to go on. “What is the matter, my subject?” the King asked, sitting up in his seat. His tone changed to reflect his awareness of her damaged state. “Are you feeling ill?” Peewit took her hand, which she seemed oblivious to; her eyes were much shinier than usual, he noticed. She lowered her head and brought a hand to her face to wipe the escaping tears away from sight, and a minute ticked by once she tried again to speak. "Johan. He..." The words were stuck in her throat as it thickened, and then she realized that any effort to finish the sentence would result in losing control of her sorrow. Peewit looked at the King and enlightened him for her. “Gargamel gave Johan a potion at King Gerard’s Grand Ball and now he’s…evil, Sire.” The princess gasped and covered her mouth with her hands while her uncle sat back, stunned. There was nothing more to explain and, to make matters worse, it was too late to reverse to their knowledge. Finally, he formulated a response. "My best knight is now our enemy?" "Yes, Sire," he confirmed sadly. “Oh, it can’t be true!” Savina pleaded, stepping forward. “He would never betray the kingdom – that’s not who he is.” She met the eyes of her fellow lady and added, “How could this have happened?” “…It was my fault,” Falla stated. Her tone was strong, but her limbs trembled, and she was forced to clench her jaw. Suddenly, she bolted from the room, unable to hide her emotions any longer. Peewit pursued, leaving the members of royalty without a second thought. He kept on her trail, which led up the stairway to the main tower and into her room along the upper hallway. He hesitated to enter and stopped to catch his breath for several minutes. Once his heart rate dropped to normal rate again, he pulled the handle and stepped inside. Falla lie on her bed, face down crying into the pillow, and didn’t acknowledge his entrance. The sight of her in such despair struck him like a lightning bolt. He climbed over the side and sat on the mattress with his legs crossed and his hands holding his ankles, patiently waiting for her to lift her head and settle down. Eventually, she was calm enough to speak and rolled over onto her back to stare at the ceiling. At that point, he put his hand on her shoulder and tried to smile. She rested her left hand over his across her chest, sniffling now and then; he scooted closer. "I don't think it's your fault," he said, "It was probably mine." “Why’s that?” She turned her head and furrowed her brow a little. He removed his hand and lay on his back, holding them together over his stomach, and looked at the cracked stone above them, which he assumed was what she was looking at. He adjusted himself so their sides were touching before explaining his perspective. “If I hadn’t been eating in the kitchen, Scruple wouldn’t’ve knocked me out. I should’ve just entertained the crowd like Johan told me to, but I didn’t, so the rotten kid managed to dupe me and lead him right into a trap. I wasn’t supposed to sneak off because he said something bad could happen and I disobeyed, so that’s just what happened, you know?” He looked to her for a response. “Well, if I hadn’t gone off alone with King Gerard, I probably could’ve saved you or Johan,” she rebutted. Peewit shrugged and returned his attention to the ceiling. “I just figured I could do better.” He looked back at her suddenly and asked, “Wait – what were you doing with King Gerard?” "Oh, that? Nothing,” she replied. A skeptical smile traced his lips and he nudged her with his elbow. "Nothing, Falla? You were alone with him doing nothing?" "He just wanted to talk." "Clockwork ended up with me in the Storage Room shortly after I was thrown in,” he mused, wiggling his feet a little. “It was a personal matter,” she insisted, “He said Clockwork would never understand and he trusted me – he even said I have a gentle soul.” "Right before you kissed?" He bit his lip to stifle the urge to snicker. “''No'', that’s not what happened.” Her voice was confident and a smile briefly returned to her face. “We talked until one of his guards came up and told him that you and Clockwork were missing. He gave me his room key and told me to stay upstairs, and then he left. That’s it.” He chuckled and admitted defeat for now, but she could tell he thought she was lying; she decided not to argue. Despite feeling mournful, it was nice to hear someone laughing and happy about something at all. He eventually quieted down and nuzzled her in a hug. Her heart melted and she returned the affectionate gesture. "Thank you." "We’ll get through this, Falla,” he assured her, “I just know that one day we’ll get Johan back.” She agreed and there was a moment of silence. He smiled and added, “This is why friendships are so important, right?” "True,” she replied hopefully, “and he would do the same for us.” Author's Note While developing and studying the main characters, I've noticed several traits that have been addressed in both Chapter 12 and this Epilogue. Gargamel is not heartless: yes, he's evil, bitter, and lonely, but he is still a human being. He is capable of showing gratitude or compassion (to a much less extent than most would call "normal," though), and with Johan, he will have reason to show such traits. To assure his loyalty, he must praise him or pass blame away from him so Johan will never have reason to suspect them of their treachery. Johan, while obviously a valiant hero, has a tendency to try solving problems on his own before seeking assistance from his friends. Normally this would not be a bad trait, but it becomes more noticable when you hear him constantly telling his friends, "Later." The idea of "later" is a means of pushing them away, or out of mind, until he has everything situated within himself. Again, this isn't always bad, but it's also not a good habit, and it causes his downfall. Falla has a nasty habit of hiding her true feelings until she is so bottled up that she either explodes or implodes; neither is good for herself or anyone else. Rather than recognize the situation and being truthful to her nature when Johan is turned evil, she translated her pain into anger, thus starting their argument. Ultimately, this is what starts their rivalry into Season 11 and gives the villains the advantage to win over his trust. Continuation *Part 13 *Season 11 Category:Numbuh 404's Articles Category:The Reluctant Dark Knight chapters Category:LD Stories episodes